Battle of Victumulae

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Battle of Victumulae
Part of the Second Punic War
DateJanuary 217 BC
Location
Result Carthaginian victory
Belligerents
Cenomani (Cisalpine Gaul) Carthage
Commanders and leaders
Scipio Africanus Hannibal
Strength
30,000 Unknown

The Battle of Victumulae, fought in January of 217 BC during the

Battle of Trebbia (end of 218 BC).[2]

Prelude

The

Battle of Trebbia had just ended with a clear victory for the Carthaginian cavalry and the wounding of the consul Publius Cornelius Scipio (consul 218 BC) in the first,[3] as well as a clear defeat of the army of Tiberius Sempronius Longus (consul 218 BC. ) in the second, where the Roman army was largely destroyed on the field.[2]

The fortress-pantry of

Titus Livy, the historian of the 1st century attributes to the prefect of the garrison, the brindisino Dasio, the transfer of the town for the sum, not even exceptional, of four hundred golden nummies.[4]

Of the remnants of the Roman army after the battle of Trebbia, a part was exterminated near the

Roman colony of Cremona, so as not to burden the resources of a single colony with the whole army.[7]

The

Battle of Trebbia

Not even their stay in the winter quartersas peaceful for the Romans, as the Numidian cavalry continued to carry out raids everywhere, and when the places were unsuitable for these raids, the troops of the Celtiberians also intervened and the Lusitanians. In fact, it was difficult to obtain supplies for the Roman troops except through transport along the river Po.[10] There was in fact a first Battle of Piacenza (217 BC) clash of minor importance near Piacenza which saw the victorious Romans and Hannibal leave, wounded in combat, «a circumstance which generated dismay in the souls of the Carthaginians». Following this clash, the deposit was further fortified and defended.[11]

Battle

Hannibal, after resting for a few days, when he recovered from his wound, continued his journey towards the location of Victumulae to conquer it. A Roman deposit had been located here since the time of the Gallic war of the years 225-222 BC. People who belonged to the neighboring populations, probably the Cenomani, had flocked to this location from all over and had gathered here from the nearby campaigns due to fear of looting by the Carthaginians.[12]

This heterogeneous mass, incited by the Battle of Piacenza (217 BC), decided to go to meet Hannibal after arming itself. Rather than in battle order, they looked like a militia marching in a disorderly manner. And since they were 30,000 men inexperienced in military art, they were defeated by Hannibal, who, although he could count on a few well-trained soldiers, had full confidence in them.[13]

Result

The following day the inhabitants of the city of Victumulae, who had taken refuge within the city walls, welcomed the Carthaginian garrison and surrendered, handing them over their weapons. It was then that the victors were given the order to sack the city as if it had been taken by force. No form of massacre was overlooked, so much so that

Titus Livy wrote:[14]

[...] such was the example that the Carthaginians then gave of lust, cruelty and inhuman pride against those miserable

— 

Livio

— XXI, 57.14
.

References

  1. ^

    Livio

    — XXI, 45-46
    ;

    Eutropio

    — III, 9
    ;

    Polibio

    — III, 65
    .
  2. ^ a b

    Livio

    — XXI, 54-56
    ;

    Polibio

    — III, 71-74
    ;

    Mommsen 2001

    — vol. I, tomo 2, p. 732
  3. ^

    Polibio

    — III, 65-66, 7-9
    .
  4. ^

    Polibio

    — III, 69, 1-4
    ;

    Livio

    — XXI, 48.9
    .
  5. ^

    Livio

    — XXI, 56.4
    .
  6. ^

    Livio

    — XXI, 56.5
    .
  7. ^

    Polibio

    — III, 74, 7-8
    ;

    Livio

    — XXI, 56.7-9
    .
  8. ^

    Polibio

    — III, 74, 9-11
    .
  9. ^

    Livio

    — XXI, 56.6
    .
  10. ^

    Livio

    — XXI, 57.5
    .
  11. ^

    Livio

    — XXI, 57.6-8
    .
  12. ^

    Livio

    — XXI, 57.9-10
    .
  13. ^

    Livy

    — XXI, 57.11-12
    .
  14. ^

    Livio

    — XXI, 57.13-14
    .

Sources

  • Giovanni Brizzi (2007). Scipione e Annibale, la guerra per salvare Roma. Bari-Roma: Laterza.
  • Giovanni Brizzi (2016). Canne. La sconfitta che fece vincere Roma. Bologna: Il Mulino.
  • Theodor Mommsen (2001). Storia di Roma antica. Vol. II. Milano: Sansoni.
  • André Piganiol (1989). Le conquiste dei romani. Milano: Il Saggiatore.
  • Howard H.Scullard (1992). Storia del mondo romano. Dalla fondazione di Roma alla distruzione di Cartagine. Vol. I. Milano: BUR.